thanks for agreeing re: lotus flower. same as you, i did actually hear the solo version post-album drop. then, going back to the album, it's like, why the fuck bother. it's like a terrible remix someone would post on soundcloud for their 300 facebook friends. (by comparison, i mean, the album version is a'ight)
i understand what you mean about the contrast of certain parts, and i think on codex the bits that are done in that way are enough... it's a build-up, the whole song doesn't need to be that way, ya'meen? but this is just unquantifiable opinion. in rainbows was their peak, everything on there was incredibly spot-on, down to the bsides, and i hope to god they recover. and recover is what they need to do.. some of KoL was just straight up shite. morning mr magpie can go fuck itself like.